India : Work on Smart City projects set to take off

dministrative sanction to be obtained in 2-3 weeks

Senior officials of Chennai Smart City Limited took charge on Monday, setting the ball rolling for key civic projects estimated at ₹1,300 crore in the city.

Raj Cherubal took charge as the Chief Executive Officer of Chennai Smart City Limited on Monday. As many as 11 applications were received for the post of CEO in December 2016. Owing to a delay in the appointment of a CEO, the smart city projects did not take off. Other officials, including the Company Secretary, will take charge this week.

Panagal Park dropped

Chennai Corporation Commissioner D. Karthikeyan said administrative sanction for the smart city projects is expected to be obtained in two or three weeks. However, parks such as Panagal Park in T. Nagar will not be refurbished under the smart city mission as Metro Rail is set to take over the area in the next phase.

A parking management system for the city is expected to be one of the key projects to be implemented under the smart cities mission. Motorists will be able to book parking space over phone. Fines for parking in ‘no parking’ areas are likely to be imposed along all roads.

Projects such as the restoration of eight parks in T. Nagar and redevelopment of 23 roads will be taken up at ₹23 crore. At least 41 such projects are expected to be implemented at an estimated cost of ₹1,300 crore.

“The roads will have proper pedestrian facilities, parking lots, traffic calming measures and rainwater harvesting facilities. We did not want to touch the roads that have Metrowater work in future,” said an official.

“The eight parks to be refurbished will have a lot more tree cover. The parks in T. Nagar will be redesigned with a slope, so that all the rainwater is harvested. The parks will have Wi-Fi, better lighting and activity spaces,” said an official. A dashboard for residents and officials to get information on civic issues will be implemented.